Oregon football: Ducks, preparing for USC, are still No. 2 by BCS logic

USC is ranked No. 24 in the AP poll but isn't eligible for the BCS standings.
Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

Through a rollicking 60-13 blowout of UCLA on Thursday night, Oregon fans held up their index fingers and cheered, reveling in the newfound No. 1 status of their Oregon Ducks.

But Sunday night's new Bowl Championship Series standings, for the second week in a row, did not agree with the fans or the voters filling out ballots for the AP, Harris or coaches' polls.

Oregon will go into USC on Saturday night as a touchdown favorite and as the No. 2 team in the country -- at least according to the BCS.

Auburn is the new No. 1 in the BCS, followed by Oregon, Boise State, TCU and Michigan State. The Tigers, ranked third behind Oregon and Boise in the human polls, blew away the competition where it matters most in college football -- amid the algorithms of the BCS computers.

Here's how those computers rank the current football talent: Auburn, Missouri, Michigan State, TCU, Oklahoma, Boise State, LSU and ... Oregon. Those numbers are combined with the Harris and coaches' polls to burp out the standings, and the top two teams in the final standings play for the title.

All that serves to whip Oregon fans into a frenzy, but it matters little as long as the Ducks (7-0, 4-0 Pacific-10 Conference) keep winning and impressing voters. And as the fans' minds are firmly on the postseason, the Ducks try to focus on the present and prepare for a team with no immediate bowl future.

The Trojans (5-2, 2-2), despite NCAA sanctions that include a two-year bowl ban, are playing well right now. They are coming off a bye week that followed a 48-14 spanking of California and are a couple of heartbeats from being undefeated.

Last-second losses to Washington and at Stanford keep this from being a showdown of unbeatens -- and yes, ESPN's "College GameDay'' will be there once again.

Much has been made of the Pac-10's changing of the guard, with Oregon taking the reins from USC after a decade of dominance. And how's this for a flip-flop stat:

The Trojans were always the team ranked at or near the top -- they were No. 1 for 33 consecutive weeks under Pete Carroll -- but now the story line is the ranking of the Coliseum visitors.

This will be USC's first game against a No. 1 team since 1992 (Washington) and the first time USC has played host to a No. 1 team since 1988 (Notre Dame).

As far as the series goes, USC holds a 37-17-2 edge, including 23-6-1 in Los Angeles. The Ducks have played in the Coliseum only twice since 2000, losing both by a combined score of 79-20.

But the Ducks have won seven of the last 12, including a 47-20 thrashing last Halloween at Autzen Stadium.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly is tossing out that tape, though, given the Trojans' new staff under coach Lane Kiffin.

"Whenever we play a team that's got a new staff, we don't look at last year,'' said Kelly, who has been poring over tapes of Hawaii, Virginia, Minnesota, Washington State, Washington, Stanford and Cal.

The most important difference in USC's offense, from the Ducks' perspective, is that super-talented quarterback Matt Barkley appears to have been unleashed.

"The ball is more in Barkley's hands now than before,'' Kelly said. "He's talented. He's thrown the most touchdowns in this league, sixth in the country in pass efficiency, he's doing a really, really nice job. ... They're a handful again offensively.''

Kelly raved about USC's receiving duo of Ronald Johnson and Robert Woods but said the former national high school player of the year at quarterback makes it all go.

"I thought he played really well against us last year,'' Kelly said. "He handled Autzen Stadium crowd and those other things -- a little more poised than most true freshmen, and I think he's picking up where he left off.''

USC may be losing scholarships, but there is considerable talent on both sides.

"They got more 4- or 5-star recruits the last four years than anybody in the country, I think,'' Kelly said. "They're definitely the most talented team in the Pac-10, I'll tell you that.''

How the Ducks rank in the NCAA: LaMichael James (161.8 yards per game) still leads the nation in rushing, ahead of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson (156.6) and Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter (147.3).

Darron Thomas has climbed to 18th in passing efficiency, and his 9.50 touchdown percentage (17 of his 179 passes have been for scores) equals that of Stanford's Andrew Luck and trails only Boise State's Kellen Moore.

As a team, Oregon leads the nation by a wide margin in total offense (569.1 yards per game) and scoring offense (55.1 points per game).

The Ducks (308.4 yards per game) rank third in rushing offense, behind the grounded attacks of Air Force (326.5) and Georgia Tech (317.4) and just ahead of Auburn (303.3).

The Ducks rank 30th in total defense (331.6 yards per game), with 12 teams stingier on yards per play than Oregon's 4.50. And they are 12th in scoring defense (15.9 points per game).

Oregon also leads the nation in turnover margin (25 takeaways and 13 giveaways), and its punt return defense (7 returns, 8 yards) has been spectacular but not as good as Notre Dame's (7 returns, 3 yards).